7 FITNESS MYTHS DEBUNKED

When it comes to fitness it’s often hard to sort the fact from fiction. It seems that everyone these days has an opinion and everyone is a self-appointed fitness expert. There is quite a bit of hype about health and wellness, a lot of which comes from marketing campaigns that aim to sell us something easy, the magic pill, or the latest and greatest product that will make us well. There is a lot of misinformation in the world of health. Let’s clarify a few of the top Fitness Myths.

7 Fitness Myths Debunked

If I workout I can eat whatever I want

Wrong! Healthy weight management is all about calories in and calories out. You still have to make sure you burn more than you eat, period.

What is true is the fact that those who workout regularly can eat more than those who don’t because they burn more during the workout and even when at rest because their metabolism is boosted.

But, you still have to consider that an apple has 95 calories, while a slice of apple pie has 277.

Lifting weights will make women bulky

Many come to this conclusion after seeing photos of female bodybuilders. But, it’s not just lifting weights that have made these women bulky, its also steroids, taking growth hormones and a very particular regimen that takes a ton of effort.

Ladies, lift weights, build strength, tone muscle, it’s all good for you and you will not turn into a bodybuilder.

Crunches will burn belly fat

This is one of the biggest myths around. Crunches tone ab muscles, but, in order to burn the fat that covers those muscles you have to perform fat burning exercises along with keeping a calorie deficit.

You can add ab exercises into a fat burning workout, like, Kettlebell training, HIIT or Tabata, with these workouts you burn fat, while at the same time sculpting the muscles underneath.

Sleep has nothing to do with weight management

Sleep plays an important role in weight management for several reasons. A study of Women cited in the American Journal of Epidemiology showed that those who got less than seven hours of sleep per night gained weight. And other studies have shown that even minimal sleep deprivation increases the production of the hormone ghrelin in the body, which triggers feelings of hunger, even when one is not. Think about it, how often have you eaten when you were really tired?

To lose fat and weight, you should not eat fat

Wrong! Healthy fats play critical roles in our health and wellness because they play key roles in internal body functions and also help prevent chronic disease, like that of the heart because they help to control bad cholesterol and increase good cholesterol.

Fat is also important to maintain healthy hormone levels and make use of vitamins. Fat is also necessary for muscle growth and it helps to regulate the appetite.

The key is to focus on healthy fats, like, olive oil, fish and fish oils, avocadoes, flaxseeds and raw nuts, A diet without fats that is mainly comprised of carbs and protein can make any fat-loss or muscle-building goals virtually impossible to reach.

The scale determines your true fitness level

Did you know that muscle weighs more than fat? If you workout and strength train with weights the scale may not represent your true fitness level. Then there are inches, some people lose inches while the scale stands still.

And, the scale cannot assess a true amount of body fat, for that you can use a body fat calliper that offers an accurate reading.

Then there is the BMI, Body Mass Index Scale that can tell you where you place on the obesity scale, it takes into account parameters beyond weight.

High protein diets are essential for fat loss

The best fat loss diet is one that you can stick to. Most dieters quickly find that all or nothing fad diets don’t work for long term fat loss.

Try to eat smaller portions several times per day instead of 3 big meals and increase your physical activity when aiming for fat loss.